World Cup 2014 recap: Latest news and updates on judgement day for Spain's tiki-taka

Chile know that if they can pick up points against Spain tonight, they stand a very good chance of progressing to the knockout stages

Judgement day: Spain could be knocked out of the tournament by Chile today

9:06 am

Day 7?! It feels like the World Cup has been going on for weeks (in a good way).

Today it's judgement day for Spain, who take on Chile in Group B. If they don't pick up three points against the South American side, then they face the very real prospect of not qualifying from the group.

Chile know that by drawing against Spain, and parking the bus against the Netherlands, they could go through on goal difference even if they lose to the Oranje.

Meanwhile, in Group B, Australia will be hoping to finish their match against Netherlands with a shred of dignity in tact. But a spirited performance against Chile last week shows that they have heart, even if they do not have the world class players of Spain, Netherlands and Chile.

9:22 am

Paul Gorst

Morning all!

A brief recap on day six's action before we get stuck into today's news then...

Belgium struggled for large portions against Algeria but two substitutions turned it around for Marc Wilmots' side, as they won 2-1.

Marouane Fellaini's header cancelled out Sofiane Feghouli's penalty before Dries Mertens won it for the Europeans late on.

The five-time world champions were held in Fotaleza thanks mainly to some inspired goalkeeping from Guillermo Ochoa.

“I think it was a great result for both teams,” said the 27-year-old.

“Both teams tried to win it, Mexico have a great team with great players, a philosophy to play football and both teams created a lot of opportunities to score.

“We were unlucky in some moments, and great goalkeeping on the other side, but that's football."

9:41 am

Paul Gorst

Raul calls for big win from Spain

Former Real Madrid and Spain superstar Raul has called for Vicente del Bosque's side to make a statement against Chile.

The reigning world and European champions were humbled 5-1 by the Netherlands in their opening game last week.

The stunning reverse caused many to proclaim the death of 'Tiki-Taka' and the former La Roja striker thinks only a big win against the South Americans will suffice.

He wrote in his Times of India column: "Nothing less than three points against Chile at the Maracana can restore the dented respect for the world champions.

"The defeat against Netherlands has put the defending champions in a fix. They have to win by a big margin now.

"Of late, teams have found out a way to play against them - keeping the defence tight and counterattacking with great speed."

10:11 am

Paul Gorst

Carragher warns England of Suarez the "phenomenon"

Former England defender Jamie Carragher has warned the Three Lions about his former Liverpool teammate Luis Suarez.

The Uruguay striker underwent knee surgery last month and sat out his side's 3-1 defeat to Costa Rica on Saturday, amid reports that he was not 100% fit.

However, the La Celeste striker has since claimed he is raring to go against Roy Hodgson's side on Thursday, and Carragher is wary of the Reds striker.

He told talkSPORT: “You wouldn’t expect him to be 100% fit but Luis Suarez is different from others players in world football. He’s a phenomenon.

“He’s a winner and won’t be going into the game worrying about his injury. Some players go onto the pitch, when they’re coming back from an injury, and they’re not the same physically and mentally. He won’t have that in his head though.

“I know what sort of character he is and he’ll be full throttle. Whether he’s as sharp as he normally is remains to be seen but he will not be worried one iota about his injury."

10:38 am

Paul Gorst

Ochoa delighted with performance

Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa hailed a career best performance as they held Brazil to a goalless draw on Tuesday night.

The stopper kept out Neymar and co with a string of eye-catching saves, and the 28-year-old was delighted after giving a personal appraisal.

"Was it my best performance? I think so yes. To hold the world champions to zero it isn't easy. I am happy with that," he told ESPN.

"We knew it was going to be a difficult match. Brazil is always tough and in their home stadium.

"We knew they would give twice the effort but it is good point for us and good for us in this group."

11:03 am

Paul Gorst

Coentrao out of World Cup

Portugal defender Fabio Coentrao's World Cup is over after an MRI scan revealed he has a grade-two tear of his abductor muscle.

The Real Madrid left-back was carried off on a stretcher in the second half of his side's 4-0 defeat to Germany on Monday.

Initial reports claimed that Coentrao would miss around 10 days, but results of the scan now suggest that the Portuguese could miss around a month of action.

Drobga likely to be on the bench again

Paul Gorst

Ivory Coast coach Sabri Lamouchi has stated that Didier Drogba is likely to be on the bench for their second World Cup game.

Lamouchi's side play Colombia on Thursday and the Elephants' manager has said that the Galatasaray striker may have to settle for a reserve spot once more.

"People love Didier Drogba and I know there are a lot of lovers of Drogba's style," Lamouchi said.

"But you have to understand the last time he played 90 minutes was a few months ago in Turkey.

"He's just recovered from injury. He made a lot of sacrifices to be here at the World Cup."

Drogba was largely credited with turning the game in his side's favour against Japan, after his introduction inspired the African nation to come from a goal down to beat Japan 2-1 in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Wilfried Bony and Gervinho scored the goals, but it was the former Chelsea star's arrival just after the hour mark that triggered the fightback.

11:36 am

Paul Gorst

Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has claimed that his team's performance against Mexico was an improvement on their showing against Croatia.

La Selecao were held to a goalless draw against the Mexicans on Tuesday night, but despite the stalemate Scolari feels his team are getting better, even though they won their opener 3-1 last week.

"In my opinion - it's my own, not that of the critics - the team played better than they did against Croatia," he told FIFA.com.

"There was at least an extra 10% than what there was against Croatia.

"The team has evolved. We can still improve, but we can still qualify for the next round. We showed quality, so I am satisfied."

11:41 am

Paul Gorst

More reaction to Ochoa's performance here, and our man Jack Lang has tweeted this cartoon from newspaper Lance, in Brazil.

Ahead of England's World Cup showdown with Uruguay on Thursday, takeaway service Just Eat have released a 'Luis Suarez special'.

The pizza portrait is apparently an ode to the Liverpool forward's fiery temper, and will be available at Toscana pizzeria in London.

While Uruguay looked toothless without Suarez against Costa Rica, the 31-goal hitman is likely to be back with designs on slicing the Three Lions defence open on Thursday.

The mighty bitey Suarez is the work of food artist Prudence Staite.

12:03 pm

Paul Gorst

Paul Scholes believes Wayne Rooney can "destroy" Uruguay if he is given the chance to play centrally on Thursday.

The Manchester United legend thinks that his teammate can prosper against the La Celeste defence, in particular, West Brom flop Diego Lugano.

Writing in his Paddy Power blog, he said: “Diego Godin won La Liga with Aletico Madrid last season and is a very good centre-half – but Godin can’t be expected to cover for the mistakes of his partner, Diego Lugano.

"Lugano is slow, he couldn’t handle Costa Rica, and he was released by West Brom – it doesn’t say much for him.

"Wayne Rooney can destroy Lugano, if Wayne is played in his best position.”

12:32 pm

Paul Gorst

Spain striker Fernando Torres has claimed that no one in the squad is concerned with their own place against Chile - they just want to win.

The reigning world and European champions were hammered 5-1 by the Netherlands last week.

Torres, who could be set for a role on the bench against the South Americans, feels that the whole squad are just concerned with the three points rather than fearing for their own places in the starting 11.

He told a press conference: “The game with Chile is one of those days when no one is worrying about who gets to play.

“It's about winning. I would love it to be that we play our football, get back into our stride, handle the ball well, but if it's not like that, we have to win no matter what.

“It doesn't matter who plays. The national team are playing, and they have to win, however they do it.

“It's not easy defending the World Cup. We've won everything as a group and, if we lose, it will be as a group.”

1:09 pm

Paul Gorst

Del Bosque admits to complacency

Vicente del Bosque has admitted that his Spain side were too complacent against the Netherlands in their 5-1 drubbing last week.

The world and European champions were stunned by a rampant Oranje side in a repeat of the 2010 World Cup final last Friday.

Del Bosque said: “Complacency may have been an issue in our first game.

“I think we have to realise we lost a very important match and accept the criticism. There have been many criticisms and I agree with them. I don’t want to defend our performance in the last match.

“The reality is we have it in our hands, no-one else’s, and that's what we have to look at. People show what they are made of when times are tough.

“I know my line-up, but I'm not going to tell you. I want a strong squad right up to the start of the game. Knowing the line-up might upset the mood of the players.”

1:33 pm

Paul Gorst

Modric passed fit

Croatia will breath a sigh of relief with the news that Luka Modric has been passed fit for the clash with Cameroon.

The Real Madrid midfielder suffered a foot injury against Brazil last week, but coach Niko Kovac has delivered some good news on the former Spurs star's condition.

“Luka is going to be 100% fit," he said.

“He did well [on] Tuesday and Monday in training, no problems there. He will be 100% match fit.

“We know what this match means to us and Cameroon. We’ve come here to play football and win three points because it means so much to us.

“Let’s not dwell on the maths, let’s focus on the game and the three points.”

With Brazil and Mexico on four points at the top of Group A, both teams need to win in Manaus.

1:53 pm

Paul Gorst

Netherlands boss Louis van Gaal has insisted his players' feet are firmly on the ground, despite their 5-1 win against Spain last week.

Oranje stunned the reigning world and European champions last Friday in their opening game, but the soon-to-be Manchester United manager has said his squad have taken it all in their stride.

"Nothing has changed, the team reacted very well, especially the more experienced players, they understand what is going on," said Van Gaal.

"They knew that was just one win, we haven't even qualified yet, so I see this attitude in a positive way.

"At the same time, I must prepare this team for the next match. So no new approach to what we've been doing."

2:26 pm

Paul Gorst

Herrera plays down Brazil draw

Mexico coach Miguel Herrera has stressed that his team have achieved nothing yet, after their creditable 0-0 draw with Brazil.

El Tri managed to squeeze out a point against Luiz Felipe Scolari's side to put them in the healthy position of four points alongside the host nation at the top of Group A.

"We picked up a point but we've not achieved anything solid just yet," he told FIFA.com.

"We're in the group and battling it out for a place (in the next round), even with Brazil.

"We've still got another group game to play and, like always, we'll be going all out for the win. We're ready to compete with anybody. There's a still a lot to do."

2:58 pm

Paul Gorst

Neville dismisses Suarez's claims

Former England international Phil Neville has dismissed claims from Luis Suarez that the Uruguay striker is "100% fit".

The Liverpool forward had knee surgery at the end of May and hasn't played since the Reds' last game of the season on May 11.

Suarez sat out La Celeste's 3-1 defeat to Costa Rica on Saturday, but has since insisted he is ready for Thursday's game with the Three Lions.

Neville disagrees, and said in his BBC column: "Luis Suarez had an operation on his knee 26 days ago. I've had three or four operations on my knee and it is very difficult to recover fully in that time and be 100% fit.

"And I mean being fit to play the whole game, not just being fit after recovering from the operation. You need to train to be match fit and Suarez has not had time to do that.

"I don't think he can be 100% and, depending on his condition, this might actually be a good time to play Uruguay with Suarez in the team."

3:32 pm

Paul Gorst

Spain midfielder Cesc Fabregas has called for the side to take their chances against Chile this evening.

La Roja were stunned by the Netherlands 5-1 in their opening game last week, and face questions about their ability to last the pace in Brazil.

Speaking to Movistar, the new Chelsea man said: "We know what we're playing for and against whom.

“It's up to us, we have to dominate the match. We know there will be times when we will have to resist and when we have chances, we will have to take them.”

"The most important thing is to win, and then if we can score more than one goal, better. Then we'll have to play Australia".

4:47 pm

Some injury news coming out of the Uruguay camp that will interest England supporters.

According to Sky Sports News, captain Diego Lugano is OUT of the clash in Sao Paulo.

The 33-year-old - who spent last season at West Brom - was criticised for his determination to play a deep line on Saturday, as Uruguay fell to a shock 3-1 defeat to Costa Rica.

Boss Oscar Tabarez must now decide on Lugano's replacement, with Liverpool man Sebastian Coates likely to come into the side.

Uruguay are already without right-back Maximiliano Pereira, after he was sent off on Saturday.